Chapter 85

Chapter 85

Blood Calamity Demon Ha Gwangil staggered back, blood streaming from his entire body. His eyes were wide with shock.

"You—you think a brat like you can beat me, when even Baek Gunseo couldn't—!"

It was an old memory, stained with humiliation and despair.

After he had strutted about as if South Korea was too small for him, only to be defeated by Baek Gunseo and driven out, Ha Gwangil had sharpened his blade day after day, waiting for the day of his revenge.

But as twenty years passed, he realized he could never become a transcendent.

Past sixty, with his body beginning to decline in earnest, he accepted that revenge against Baek Gunseo was impossible, and returned to Korea before it was too late.

If he couldn't take revenge directly, then at least he would destroy everything around him. Ha Gwangil's target was everything Baek Gunseo held dear.

What Baek Gunseo treasured more than his own life was the Shinseong Group.

He had come here today to capture Baek Gunseo's beloved disciple, Jung Dahyun. He had thought capturing a brat who'd been called a genius and walked the elite path would be easy—but he'd been wrong.

Jung Dahyun's blade was fast and dazzling.

What surprised Ha Gwangil most was how persistently she dug into every opening.

To that end, Jung Dahyun didn't even hesitate to get injured herself.

Even villains who wielded vicious sword strikes weren't like this.

Those bastards also valued their own lives—but Jung Dahyun radiated a killing intent that said she would kill him even at the cost of her own wounds.

This is a public service Hunter, not a villain?

"This isn't right—it's not!"

His decades of combat experience were being rendered meaningless. Dazzling technique laced with killing intent, compounded by sheer tenacity, produced every unpredictable sword path imaginable.

Before such brilliantly blooming talent, his aged self grew endlessly pitiful.

And what infuriated him most—

"Fake Blood Calamity Demon, sir, where's the real one?"

"Kraaagh!"

It was her attitude of refusing to acknowledge even his identity as the Blood Calamity Demon. From beginning to end, she had treated him as nothing but an impostor impersonating the Blood Calamity Demon.

For Ha Gwangil, who took boundless pride in his epithet, this was a humiliation he could never tolerate.

"Die! Die! I said die!"

Ha Gwangil began pouring out his remaining Force without restraint. His body was overloaded. In exchange, his speed increased and his variations multiplied—but Jung Dahyun didn't even blink, deflecting them all.

She could block every single sword strike, each dripping with killing intent?

Did this girl not know the meaning of fear?

Watching her catch every one of his countless variations with her eyes, Ha Gwangil felt his blood run cold.

What dazzling talent this was.

Before it, he was rendered endlessly pitiful.

"Even if you're going to impersonate someone, pick someone else."

At last, even his very existence was denied, and Ha Gwangil's eyes flipped.

"You—I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do!"

Those were Ha Gwangil's final words.

Jung Dahyun's blade, darting in like a flash of lightning, had severed his neck. Even at the moment of death, his head refused to accept it, rolling across the ground with eyes bulging wide.

"I only kept you alive this long because I thought you were a fake."

Jung Dahyun, without leaving her spot, looked into the dead Ha Gwangil's eyes with a grave expression.

"Something's off."

So he wasn't a fake but the real one?

If so, he was far, far too weak.

Deputy Team Leader Eom Gyeongyeong was a man called a walking encyclopedia—when it came to villains, at least. Even with the passage of time, there was no way he'd fail to recognize Ha Gwangil, the Blood Calamity Demon.

Then what was it that she'd defeated?

Could a Level 6 so easily overpower a Level 7?

"I don't know."

Judging by Ha Gwangil's reactions, he might have been the real one.

She had kept calling him a fake to provoke him, but it had been easier than expected.

If anything, villains seemed to fall for provocation more easily.

"Should I learn some insults?"

Maybe rough insults would shake their mental state even more.

Because of that, the epithet Rakshasa Girl no longer bothered her.

It was proof that she had killed that many villains and served to keep citizens safe.

Just as Jung Dahyun, postponing her worries, turned her head toward the villains—

"Eek! P-please spare me!"

"I surrender."

"Just my life, please! Rakshasa Girl, ma'am!"

The villains, their faces ashen, were raising their arms and begging.

* * *

"Thank you. You intended all of this, didn't you?"

"Uh, yeah."

When Jung Dahyun expressed her gratitude, he felt somewhat dazed.

In this operation, they had captured Ha Gwangil, the Blood Calamity Demon, who had spread his notoriety for so long.

The Blood Calamity Demon was a famous Level 7 villain.

He was one of the villains of the previous generation, represented alongside Berserker, Puppeteer, Executioner, and Black Reaper.

Jung Dahyun had captured a titan among titans. The news, already catching the scent, was in an uproar.

A Level 7 had appeared, now entering her mid-twenties. At this rate, she would become a transcendent within ten years, and already the "K-Awakened Training System" was being promoted.

And why was he being included in that promotion?

"Wasn't it difficult?"

"No, it was so easy I thought my opponent was Level 6. I learned from you, so I was confident I could beat any Level 6."

She certainly had a way with words.

He knew sincerity and faith were packed into those words.

He was relieved there were results.

Until now, he'd thought his way of pushing people was wrong.

But she had already reached Level 7? It was a moment that confirmed his standards were different from others'. People seemed to apply their standards generously when it came to Level evaluations.

Jung Dahyun seemed to think he was intentionally hiding his strength, but there was no need to clear up that misunderstanding.

"Good work."

"Yes. I'll stay on my guard and keep working hard."

"Alright."

Jung Dahyun was pleased, saying she'd now be able to capture many more named villains.

Her attitude of never being satisfied with the present and constantly striving was admirable.

He too had managed to regain his sanity because he hadn't yielded to Blood Lord's madness to the very end.

Seeing this, he seemed to have a fair amount of talent for teaching.

He should push Yunhee without hesitation.

* * *

Research on the newly designated Plus Plus monster progressed smoothly.

The speculation was how strong a Plus-tier monster would be if it operated Force more skillfully and used its gift freely.

The result was a catastrophe in itself.

The Plus Plus—the Twin Horns monster—was, in human terms, at the level of a transcendent. Considering how vast the gap was between Level 7 and a transcendent, the difference between a Harmful-class Level 8 and Twin Horns was stark.

Experts running simulations strongly argued that they had to prevent such monsters from ever appearing.

But no matter how strong the Awakened forces became, there was no way to push into where monsters lived and find a Twin Horns monster whose very existence was uncertain.

Nor had humanity built up forces powerful enough to collapse the monster ecosystem.

"Going around in circles, the conclusion comes to this: we need to possess stronger Awakened."

"That's obvious."

"It becomes justification to invest more in that direction. Nurturing Awakened ultimately takes money, after all."

"Money, money. Money's good."

Money everywhere, no matter where you go. Even when wrapped up as if it's not, look closely and it's ultimately about money.

For him, money was a means, but for some, it became the very purpose of life.

You can just take what your abilities allow—but some overstep and steal, only to hasten their own deaths.

"Yes, with money you can do a lot. Though sometimes there are things you can't."

Lee Sehee looked at him with a meaningful gaze.

"Like what?"

"I'll tell you later."

Lee Sehee smiled brightly. Her attire was different from usual. She'd done light makeup and wore a black tracksuit with white light armor over it.

Today was the day he'd agreed to oversee Lee Sehee's training.

She'd revealed to him that she'd become properly motivated now that Jung Dahyun had reached Level 7.

She certainly displayed her competitive spirit more directly than Jung Dahyun.

"If the Plus Plus monster's appearance becomes reality, young and outstanding talents like Dahyun will rise in value even more. It stings all the more since she came from our guild."

"Dahyun is impressive."

"It's fine. I'll just become that good too. You'll make that happen for me, won't you, Junho?"

"I'm not making anything—you're the one who has to take it in."

"Sounds good to me. I've never met anyone greedier than me. Probably."

What attitude would Lee Sehee, a chaebol royal, show toward training?

If it didn't satisfy her, she'd wash her hands of it immediately.

He hoped her endurance matched her greed.

"You've never met anyone as stubborn as me."

Lee Sehee said, eyes sparkling.

* * *

The wooden sword sliced through the air with a whistle. Though it was a wooden sword, its power was nothing short of fierce.

It was so fast, its trajectory so free, that even a moment's lapse meant inevitably yielding an opening.

"Haaah!"

Lee Sehee gasped for breath. Sweat poured down her entire body like rain, but Choi Junho's wooden sword didn't rest for even a moment.

She rolled across the ground to evade the wooden sword. Her sweat-soaked body was covered in dirt, but she had no time to care. The moment her attention drifted anywhere else, sword strikes inevitably poured down.

It felt as though the sword had a magnet attached, chasing after her.

'...This is harsh. Too harsh!'

So did she hate it?

Not in the slightest.

'If anything, I love it!'

There was not a shred of mercy in Choi Junho's movements. If her concentration wavered even slightly or she made a wrong judgment, the wooden sword struck hard.

Each time, Lee Sehee had to wring out every ounce of energy in her body and sharpen her senses. She felt drained to the point of exhaustion, but the more it happened, the sharper her mind became.

The real part came after. Choi Junho didn't even allow her to adapt. The moment she seemed to adjust, he raised the gear like a ghost.

The structure was: Lee Sehee would think she'd hit her limit, get struck by Choi Junho's sword, and realize she had more strength to draw out.

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

Just when she thought she'd dodged the last strike, it slammed into her shoulder.

Even through the pain of her shoulder feeling like it would shatter, Lee Sehee bent at the waist. A sharp sword wind passed by, and she felt the wooden sword graze the nape of her neck.

Not even a moment to catch her breath—she had to roll backward to avoid the sword thrusting at her stomach.

It was an attack that wrung out her body, mind, and Force alike. She hadn't noticed at first, but Lee Sehee, tumbling about while being swept up in Choi Junho's attacks, realized that she was distributing her Force evenly to places she didn't normally use. Desperately struggling not to get hit, she was doing it without realizing.

Opening her senses wide across her entire body and directing Force wherever she wanted. It was a new sensation Lee Sehee had never experienced before.

It felt like becoming a third party, observing her own body. Being reborn and objectively grasping her own existence, she could tell where she was lacking and where she was overloaded.

'...This is it.'

At the sudden realization, Lee Sehee trembled with euphoria. Choi Junho wasn't simply pushing her recklessly. By forcing her to wring out every last bit of her reserves, he was guiding her to surpass her limits.

No matter how much she swung the sword or expended Force before, she'd never felt herself improving—but now she could.

It wasn't that her effort was lacking; her method had been wrong.

Choi Junho's pure hostility—his sole intent to annihilate his opponent—forced her to mobilize everything necessary for survival.

What favors survival is adaptation, and adaptation means evolution. Realizing that potential still remained within her, she ignited her competitive spirit to chase after Jung Dahyun.

Since childhood, the two had been the same age, trading the lead in beauty and talent. Now that rival had clearly pulled ahead of her.

And she was greedily monopolizing this wonderful thing all to herself!

More than anything, what suited Lee Sehee's tastes was that he didn't treat her as the Shinseong Group chairman's daughter or the Shinseong Guild's General Team Leader, but wielded his hand mercilessly.

She was becoming solely Lee Sehee the individual, wringing out every ounce of power to endure.

"Good......"

This was what she'd wanted for so long.

She wished he'd push her harder. She wished he'd be even more ruthless.

Feeling the liberation of casting off the burdens on her shoulders, she focused her gaze on Choi Junho's sword.

But stamina and Force had their limits. In the instant her concentration wavered, Choi Junho's wooden sword inevitably hammered Lee Sehee's entire body.

"Aaagh!"

She rolled across the ground with a scream. Even after landing a hit, he gave her no time to recover.

Choi Junho didn't even blink at her scream as he brought down an overhead strike. If she hadn't rolled aside immediately, she would have taken a blow to the stomach.

In Choi Junho's sword strikes, stripped of all emotion, there was no distinction between fair and cowardly.

Lee Sehee, having barely opened up distance and trying to rise, staggered.

"Done?"

"No!"

Lee Sehee planted her feet and stood firm, her eyes blazing. Despite the fierce light in her eyes, her body was trembling. Where her tracksuit had been torn, vivid red bruises covered her skin.

"More!"

The more the bruises multiplied, the brighter Lee Sehee's expression became.

* * *

His first impression of training Lee Sehee was shock and horror.

He'd deliberately raised the intensity, but her euphoric expression was something new. Surely she wasn't the type who enjoyed pain?

Including Berserker, it seemed there wasn't a single normal person around him.

Even Jung Juho and Cheon Myeongguk, who seemed relatively normal, threw hysterical fits beyond belief depending on their condition.

Maintaining his sanity alone among the abnormal was harder than he'd thought.

"Further than I expected."

He was currently out in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.

After the possibility of a Twin Horns-tier monster's appearance was raised, the government had distributed manuals to governments worldwide, urging caution.

Then a massive Force wave was detected, judged to be a sign that a Harmful-class Level 8 monster might appear, and the President personally requested his presence—so here he was.

If it appeared, the monster's name would be "Garam."

What a cute name.

That was good in that it kept people from fearing monsters, but it might also make them take them too lightly.

He entered the monster's habitat and looked around. The signs initially detected grew fainter and fainter, until at some point they vanished completely.

It could be a faulty observation, or the monster might have moved.

"Should I go deeper?"

Just as he was deliberating—

Kiiiek?

At the low cry, he turned his head to find a winged lizard with a murky green body watching him.

An Earth Dragon.

It was a Harmful-class Level 8 monster that had appeared in China before. It couldn't fly, but it had a tough hide, excellent regenerative abilities, and could use a powerful Earthquake.

But the one I was looking at was small—barely three meters.

It was an Earth Dragon hatchling.

I could sense power roughly equivalent to Harmful-class Level 5.

"So it was you?"

The creature fixed me with a reptile's stare, then bared its teeth in a threat.

A young one that can't tell front from back—seems that's true of people and monsters alike.

I unleashed a blade storm on it without hesitation.

Kyaaaak!

Hatchling or not, its hide was fairly tough—it didn't split open completely. Wounds opened here and there, and green blood streamed down.

The creature shrieked and thrashed.

If I wanted to, I could kill it on the spot, but I didn't move.

"Go on."

I intended to let the hatchling go.

Not that I'm some kind of monster-cub protection activist.

But if the parents saw their wounded child, wouldn't they fly into a rage and come straight here?

"Guess I should have you bring your parents along."

Kyaaak!

Instead of leaving, the creature let out a threatening screech and charged at me.

People or monsters—why are there so many that can't grasp their own place?

I dodged the blatant full-body tackle and, loading an Arc Mine into my foot, kicked it in the head.

If it won't listen to reason, it needs a proper lesson.

But I miscalculated my strength.

The head of the creature that took my kick spun—then spun quite a lot more, going a full 360 degrees and returning to its original position.

"Huh?"

The creature lolled its tongue, trembled, and went limp.

It had died.

Hey, you were supposed to bring your parents.

Could I save it? Doesn't look like it. I messed up.

"So weak."

Just as I clicked my tongue at the thought of my failure—

As if to prove my worry unnecessary, an intense wave of Force began to blanket the surroundings.

Since I have Immunity to All Poisons, I wasn't affected at all.

This Force belonged to a Harmful-class Level 8 monster.

If my guess was right, it would be an adult Earth Dragon.

I cast blade storm on the hatchling's corpse. It was slashed all over, and blood streamed out. A signal for it to come, drawn by the scent of blood.

"So the parent did come."

A moment later, the adult Earth Dragon showed itself.

It fixed its gaze on the bleeding, fallen hatchling, so I kicked it over and handed it to the creature.